By Amin Kef Sesay
Dr. Memunatu Pratt, Minister of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, on the 7th April 2021 joined international decision makers, tourism leaders and investors in this year’s summit of International Tourism and Investment Conference which was done virtually.
The theme for 2021 is: “Invest, Rebuild and Restart the African Travel and Tourism Sector”.
The two-day virtual summit which was the aftermath of the restraining effects of the worldwide vaccination campaigns against COVID-19 aimed at uniting the broad spectrum of stakeholders of African and global tourism industries in order to tackle the key challenges that are cropping up in global tourism. There was special focus on investment opportunities in the African continent.
Giving her contribution, Dr. Memunatu Pratt pointed out that because of the experience Sierra Leone gained during the Ebola outbreak, the country has been able to contain the COVID pandemic and that Sierra Leone was the last country in West Africa to register a positive case of the corona virus.
She stated that the Government was able to support the tourism sector by providing safety net of three months’ salary to a number of hotels further mentioning that the Government is taking COVID restrictions very seriously, noting that the Ministry is doing a number of reforms that have to do with hospitality standards.
The Minister maintained that in the midst of COVID, the Tourism Ministry has been able to increase its domestic tourism revenue and that people are now visiting tourist sites more than ever before, with particular reference to the Tobanda Beach in the South which has just been commissioned by President Bio.
She said that a lot of work needs to be done at the African Union (AU) and ECOWAS levels to bring tourism to the forefront, while maintaining that there are a lot of barriers that prevent regional tourism, connectivity and coordination. Dr. Pratt maintained that such barriers call for an urgent address.
